Bengal to build flats at Rs 8-10 lakh for salaried class

Kolkata: Bengal government has decided to build low-cost flats to address the housing needs for the salaried people falling in the lower and lower-middle class categories.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today approved the decision and the project has been named ‘Nijashree’ (my own). Going by the decision, some 50,000-odd flats will be constructed in and around all major urban hubs in Bengal, including Kolkata, over the next 2-3 years.

“Those earning a monthly pay of up to Rs 15,000 will be eligible to buy a 1BHK flat at Rs 7.28-lakh only. Those earning up to Rs 30,000 a month will be able to buy a 2BHK flat at Rs 9.26-lakh. The 1 BHK flat will be of 376 square feet; 2 BHK flat will run to 559 square feet,” state urban development minister Firhad Hakim told reporters at Nabanna after the Cabinet meeting.

The flats will be housed in five-storied buildings and amenities like park, community hall, and a playing corner will be there on the compound.

Hakim said that the flats will come up on vacant plots lying with state government departments and civic bodies. “State government agencies will construct the flats and the housing department will supervise as the nodal agency. The process of identifying the plots will start soon.”

The state housing department will soon start receiving online applications for the flats and the allotment will be made through a lottery.

NEWSMEN is an online news portal focused on news and views from Bengal and the Bengali / Bengal diaspora spread all over. Coinciding with the 73rd anniversary of the Quit India Movement, NEWSMEN went live over the world-wide-web on 09 August 2015.